Theresa Randle

Theresa Randle is an American actress. She has appeared in films such as Malcolm X (1992), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Space Jam (1996), Spawn (1997) and the Bad Boys franchise (1995–2020).

Life and career
In 1983, Randle appeared in a George Clinton video, "Last Dance". In 1987, she got her first big-screen break with Maid to Order. For the next three years, she appeared in small roles in films such as Easy Wheels and Heart Condition (1990), with Denzel Washington. She continued in small roles by directors like Abel Ferrara (King of New York [1990]) and Spike Lee (Jungle Fever [1991] and Malcolm X [1992]). Randle also starred with Wesley Snipes in the film Sugar Hill (1994) and also appeared with Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop III in the same year. She co-starred in CB4 (1993) with Chris Rock, and Bad Boys (1995) with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, later reprising in the sequels Bad Boys II and Bad Boys for Life. In 1996, she earned her first starring role in Spike Lee's film Girl 6, playing a young out-of-work actress who gets caught up in the seductive yet dark world of phone sex, a subject that's far different from what Spike Lee normally explores in his films. It is often regarded as Lee's most maligned and underappreciated film both critically and commercially as it grossed a dismal $4.9 million on a $12 million budget, and is Randle's only leading role to date. Later that year she appeared in Space Jam (1996) with Michael Jordan and the film adaptation of the comic book Spawn in 1997.

After 1997, Randle's career cooled considerably and her roles (mostly television projects) became more sporadic. Her next project was not until the year 2000 when she portrayed singer Natalie Cole in Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story. In 2006, Randle played Marine Capt. Amy Jennings in The Hunt for Eagle One and The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point. She later had a role in Shit Year, released in 2010. After 1997's Spawn, Randle's only theatrical releases were 2003's Bad Boys II and 2020's Bad Boys for Life, which was her first project (theatrical or televised) in ten years. In 2023 it was announced that her role in the Bad Boys franchise would be filled by actress Tasha Smith in the fourth film in the series.

During her time making movies, Randle also made guest appearances on various television sitcoms and dramas. In 1989, she had a guest starring role in A Different World, followed by a minor role in "The Apartment", an episode of the hit television sitcom Seinfeld two years later. In 2006, Randle signed on to play Patricia Kent on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, replacing Courtney B. Vance as the assistant district attorney assigned to the Major Case Squad, but only appeared in two episodes. In 2007, Randle was a regular cast member of the Lifetime show State of Mind as Dr. Cordelia Banks.